How to call Tasawwuf - Islamic Psychology?

[Al-Faruqi]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

If we do as we are told by authentic scholars, namely understanding Tasawwuf as a science part of orthodox Islam, then how should we call it in non-Arabic terms?

Would it be fine to call it "Islamic Psychology"?

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

[Al-Faruqi]

I think it is called as esoteric science or Islamic Mysticism. Correct me if i'm wrong

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

May Allah reward you for your valuable input. Ameen.

In my ears "Mysticism" sounds much like "magic" and weird innovated practices by pseudo-sufis.

Something with "Spiritual" would sound better, in my opinion:

Shaykh = Spiritual Guide
Tassawuf = Islamic Spirituality (still very imprecise meaning, doesn't sound like science)

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

[Abu Zakariya Yahya]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

If we do as we are told by authentic scholars, namely understanding Tasawwuf as a science part of orthodox Islam, then how should we call it in non-Arabic terms?

Would it be fine to call it "Islamic Psychology"?

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

The word itself can't be translated because it wouldn't have anything to do with the actual science of it.
But if we say that Tassawuf=Tazkiyah=Ihsaan,
then I would say, Islamic Spiritual Purfication....
And Allah knows best...

[kayra]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

May Allah reward you for your valuable input. Ameen.

In my ears "Mysticism" sounds much like "magic" and weird innovated practices by pseudo-sufis.

Something with "Spiritual" would sound better, in my opinion:

Shaykh = Spiritual Guide
Tassawuf = Islamic Spirituality (still very imprecise meaning, doesn't sound like science)

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

How about Islamic Metaphysics? Sounds nice and scientific, I thought =)

Otherwise, I tend to explain it as Sufism (which everyone seems to understand nowadays, thanks to Rumi Year!), or Spiritual Advancement/ Growth, or Inner Health - depending on the person I'm talking to, and which Western fads they feel are legitimate. I mean, you could even call it Islamic Psychiatry! I totaly agree with you on the "mystic" issue. Sounds like a circus attraction - only $1 to consult Sister Aisha the Mystic!

[sudoku]

How about Islamic Metaphysics? Sounds nice and scientific, I thought =)

Otherwise, I tend to explain it as Sufism (which everyone seems to understand nowadays, thanks to Rumi Year!), or Spiritual Advancement/ Growth, or Inner Health - depending on the person I'm talking to, and which Western fads they feel are legitimate. I mean, you could even call it Islamic Psychiatry! I totaly agree with you on the "mystic" issue. Sounds like a circus attraction - only $1 to consult Sister Aisha the Mystic!

Ah, that's the word I was thinking about! for posting.

[Al-Faruqi]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Where is the difference between "Islamic Psychiatry" and "Islamic Psychology"?

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

[sudoku]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Where is the difference between "Islamic Psychiatry" and "Islamic Psychology"?

Wassalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

here's from wiki

Psychiatry is a medical specialty officially devoted to the treatment and study of mental disorders.

Psychology (lit. "study of the soul" or "study of the mind"[1]) is an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human or animal mental functions and behaviors.

So I'm thinking psychiatry goes better as it is a treatment, which is what tasawwuf pretty much is (treating and cleansing the heart)

[kayra]

In the West, psychiatrists are fully-trained qualified medical doctors, their main difference from psychologists being that they are able to prescibe psychiatric drugs.

Sample definition:

The short answer is, psychiatrists are medical doctors and psychologists are not. The suffix "-iatry" means "medical treatment," and "-logy" means "science" or "theory." So psychiatry is the medical treatment of the psyche, and psychology is the science of the psyche.

I thought of psychiatry because sufi Shaykhs "prescribe" treatments - they really are doctors. They don't make you lie down on a couch and answer bizarre questions about your childhood...

NO OFFENCE to any psychologists out there!! I was just drawing a parallel between the approach of Shaykhs and the approach of psychiatrists. Otherwise - I went to several "psychs" to try and cure my crippling insomnia, and neither drugs nor therapy helped. Tasawwuf did!

[sudoku]

Nice one sis

[Al-Faruqi]

Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

Very enlightening explanation, jazak Allahu khayran.

I will opt for for Islamic Psychiatry (written with Y not with IE I think, at least according to my spell checker).